Verizon to Dial Up App Store, Partnership at Developer Conference

Verizon will hold its first-ever Verizon Developer Community (VDC) Conference at the end of July with the goal of recruiting and empowering developers to build new mobile applications for Verizon's 80 million customers.

Verizon will hold its first-ever Verizon Developer Community (VDC) Conference
at the end of July with the goal of recruiting and empowering
developers to build new mobile applications for Verizon's 80 million
customers.
The VDC will be held in Silicon Valley on July 28 and will feature
executives from Verizon, Research In Motion (RIM) and Softbank Mobile.

Verizon Wireless officials said the VDC Conference will provide
mobile applications developers with an overview of the company's
overall strategy around applications; information on a new developer
portal; and the process of submitting, launching and revenue sharing
for applications on Verizon Wireless devices as well as the upcoming
launch of an applications store. Technical, marketing and network
information will be addressed by Verizon Wireless leaders and other
partners.

"This is a way to open dialogue with developers about building
mobile applications for the Verizon store," said Debi Lewis, a
spokesperson for Verizon Wireless. "We have been in the content
business for awhile with our feature phones, but as the market has
turned to more smartphones like the RIM BlackBerry and Windows Mobile
devices we decided to try to do more to ensure our customers have
access to all the applications they want."
However, Lewis says observers should not expect to see Verizon
Wireless competing with its partners with its push for developer love.
"I think one thing to note is Jim Balsillie [Co-Chief Executive
Officer of RIM] is speaking at the conference and will outline how our
collaboration with RIM will work," Lewis said. "It's about working
together."
Indeed, said Lewis, "One key factor is Verizon Wireless is not a
software company, so we will not be providing an SDK [software
development kit] of our own or anything."
But what Verizon Wireless can provide is access to scale, to
distribution and to APIs that can help developers optimize their
applications for a Verizon Wireless experience, she said.
Further, Lewis said Verizon Wireless simply wants to make it easier
for both developers and customers. "This is about enabling developers
to easily build apps and to make it easy for people like my mom to be
able to get the apps they want," she said.
Lowell McAdam, CEO of Verizon Wireless, said the conference will be
an important "coming out" for Verizon with the application development
community, building on the open development conference that focused on
devices, which the company held in March of 2008.
In a statement, McAdam said, "Even going it alone, Verizon has
become the largest and most successful mobile multimedia service
provider in the nation. But despite that success, we have learned an
important lesson: The wireless future will be built on partnerships and
collaboration."
John Stratton, Verizon's chief marketing officer, said application
developers can expect to participate in discussions about accessing
Verizon Wireless' customer base through a host of devices and operating
environments.
"Conference speakers will detail how developers can take advantage
of new tools and resources, including Verizon Wireless APIs, to build
applications and get them in front of more than 80 million customers,"
Stratton said in a statement. "This conference is a direct result of
feedback we received from our development partners to streamline our
processes. The model that we'll share at the conference is singular in
its focus: To make working with Verizon Wireless more compelling,
lucrative and, above all, simple for developers."
Through its open development program, Verizon Wireless has certified
more than 50 devices for use on its network. Earlier this year, Verizon
Wireless offered developers technical specifications for devices that
will run on recently-acquired 700 MHz C-block spectrum where its 4G
Long Term Evolution (LTE) network will operate.
More information on the conference can be found at www.vdc2009.com.

Darryl K. Taft covers the development tools and developer-related issues beat from his office in Baltimore. He has more than 10 years of experience in the business and is always looking for the next scoop. Taft is a member of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) and was named 'one of the most active middleware reporters in the world' by The Middleware Co. He also has his own card in the 'Who's Who in Enterprise Java' deck.